


20 Random Things about Ollivander

by eaivalefay



Series: Random Facts [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 20 Random Facts, Crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-19
Updated: 2007-01-19
Packaged: 2017-11-12 20:42:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/495447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eaivalefay/pseuds/eaivalefay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ollivander excels at eccentric.</p>
            </blockquote>





	20 Random Things about Ollivander

**Author's Note:**

> Hugs for a wonderful beta! Thank you, [](http://www.insanejournal.com/users/iulia_linnea/profile)[**iulia_linnea**](http://www.insanejournal.com/users/iulia_linnea/)! And more thanks for putting up with my incessant questions and pestering. :)

  
1\. His full name is Erastus James Melvin Ollivander. His friends call him "Rast" because when he was seven, his first ever friend insisted on calling him that amidst his protestations, and, despite his best efforts, it stuck.

2\. He firmly believes that each wand is an individual and special in its own way. He knows with certainty that the wands choose their wizards, not the other way around.

3\. Erastus still has the stuffed hawk toy that he slept with every night during his childhood. He named it Birdie. It was his favorite toy for over eight years. His mother insisted he leave it behind when he left for Hogwarts, and Erastus cried himself to sleep every night during the first week at the castle.

4\. Erastus only really remembers a handful of magical folk who bought an Ollivander wand:  
Albus, "Albie," Dumbledore, who bought his first wand from Erastus' father while Erastus hid behind the front desk. He remembers Albie because he slipped Erastus a candy before his parents swept him out of the shop;  
Tom Riddle, who was only encouraged in his belief of being special by his difficult-to-place wand, and Ollivander is still unsure whether he is happy or guilty about encouraging that belief;  
Lily Evans, whose older sister, sitting quietly to the side watching her sister try out wands, unwittingly suppressed her own talents even as Ollivander assisted Lily's in blooming;  
Severus Snape, a quiet boy who disdained the idea of needing a wand, and Ollivander was offended by the boy's audacity for his wands' sakes;  
and Harry Potter, the one who shattered the idea that Tom Riddle was entirely unique and separate from the rest of the world. It was something at which Erastus was secretly relieved.  
Yet what he remembers most about these people is how _alike_ they all were despite surface differences, and he keeps this knowledge buried as a secret and a memory, except it glitters knowingly in his eyes.

5\. When he was newly graduated from Hogwarts he wanted to become an apprentice for an Italian Empath. His father refused to hear of it and Erastus got tied into the family business. To this day his gift remains untrained and a bit sporadic.

6\. Ollivander refuses Ministry protection against Death Eaters for his shop (the Ministry doesn't want the wands stolen by the Enemy), and he knows they don't understand why. Erastus doesn't care to explain it to them either--- he knows they'd only stick their noses in and complicate simple matters.

7\. A wand must be bought, to be magically released by the shop owner, for it to be removed from the building. Thieves have learned this the hard way. This particular spell is Erastus' own invention.

8\. His favorite color is magenta. When he was younger he loved blue, but after he nearly drowned during a summer holiday he found he couldn't stand the color any longer.

9\. His firstborn child died of a fever before she was even one year old. He's never really gotten over it, even if he thinks he has.

10\. Ollivander knows better than anyone that too many wands grouped together in one location risks inexplicable magical accidents. One of the reasons Ollivander's has been in one location for such a long period of time is because every inch of the building is warded to keep magic _in_.

11\. He's older than everyone thinks. Erastus lies about his age, but he believes he has a good reason for it.

12\. He sings while he showers every morning. It's usually a blur of noise, but occasionally certain words can be made out; usually they are "rubber ducky--- bath time--- fun".

13\. He loves wands: collecting the material for them, creating them, shaping them, polishing them to a fine finish. He hates selling them. He hates letting go.

14\. In the 1960s he tried a variety of Muggle drugs. Nothing was quite as satisfying as Pixie Dust. He still uses the Dust every once in awhile.

15\. He has four children, eleven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He's kept so busy with his apprentice--- his only daughter--- that he hasn't seen the others in over five years. They send him family newsletters every other month.

16\. Ollivander wouldn't drink tea if his life depended on it. For a reason he's never been able to understand it reminds him of blue and summers and sea water.

17\. He's set up a Muggle veletision (a VT!) in his living-room above the shop. He particularly likes the shows about aliens from outer space. His favorite alien is Deanna Troi. He thinks Deanna could be like him.

18\. He has never owned a pet--- not even an owl--- in his entire life despite his children having owned several dozen.

19\. Only a blood-relative can ever inherit the shop and its contents. Erastus is training his daughter to take over from him some day.

20\. Wands are his life. He loves them, has given up every other part of his life for them. He can never let them go, not now.  



End file.
